The Crazy Iris: And Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath

"The Crazy Iris" edited by Kenzaburo Oe is a collection of stories about the dropping the atomic bombs. These stories are not from a historical context or from a military standpoint, but of normal, relatable people. The stories cover the carnage seen through the eyes of a twelve year old to the memories of women going back thirty years to the high school they once attended. It also covers how the outlying villages were indirectly affected by the bombing through word of mouth and deaths of friends and families.

I read The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath by Kenzaburo Oe for an assignment in my History of Japan class. It's a collection of short stories complied to mark the fortieth anniversary of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as the book jacket says. I am not a fan of overly flowery language (though I suspect the collection wouldn't have sounded as such in its native tongue), but the stories get the point across. The point? Everyone was affected by those weapons, no matter how old you are, what you believe, what your country thinks you should believe, and so on and so forth. I myself do believe that dropping the bombs were warranted and ultimately served their purpose, but to read the tales of survivors in compact form puts things into perspective. I wouldn't wish these sort of memories on anyone. I wouldn't wish anyone to have this pain. I hope to God that moments like Hiroshima and Nagasaki are never forgotten, and that we learn from them.

I'm writing this just to offer the opinion that A.B.C.D.'s review is biased (at best) and ultra-nationalist and revisionist (at worst). Read this book and judge it for yourself. The various stories recount life in militarist Japan, horrifying scenes of atomic aftermath, and the desperate psychological and spiritual struggle to cope with the trauma of survival. This collection is a moving testament to its authors' experiences, but to say that it explicitly is anti-war or blames anyone for the atomic blast would not reflect the entirety of the book. The viewpoints and opinions of the authors are as varied as those of the Japanese themselves.

Compiled by Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, this is a collection of stories depicting the effects on various people of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The emotional, physical, and social scars are delicately and movingly presented. Some readers might find a bit too much sentimentality for their taste, but most of the stories are very strong--especially the title story, by Masuji Ibuse, who also wrote the massive novelization of the bombing of Hiroshima, "Black Rain." Since it consists of short stories and is somewhat less harrowing than "Black Rain," it serves as a good alternative.